Religious harassment: context all-important

An EAT decision provides a reminder that the context in which offensive words are spoken is all-important in a claim for religious harassment. The EAT held that an employment tribunal had been right to reject a Catholic sub-editor’s religious harassment claim, which arose when his line manager shouted a comment across a busy newsroom about the Pope that contained an expletive. Although the comment was arguably disrespectful, it did not amount to religious harassment.

This checklist sets out the different types of discrimination that can occur within the workplace and highlights practical steps businesses can take to help avoid breaching discrimination and harassment law.